Use Me
by Tonia Barone
Summary: A young man is destined for great things. No, not that young man.


I wrote this back before we knew anything about Jimmy, so the show completely Jossed it, but I felt it needed posted anyway.

Disclaimer: Castiel isn't mine, but Gamaliel and the other OCs in the fic are. Ask first if, for some reason, you wanna play with them.

A/N: About the time I wrote this, another author (I forget who now) posted something similar on livejournal. I would like to state that I didn't even read that fic beyond the summary before I wrote this. Any similarities (and there are a few) are completely coincidental.

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Gamaliel Benedict always knew he was meant for great things. His mother would tell him of the angel that visited her in a dream shortly before he was born.

"He said, 'This child is meant for great things, Mariel. Raise him well.' and then the angel was gone. I woke to you insisting on joining me in the world. That is why I named you Gamaliel, my son. You are going to benefit God one day and when you do, you will do it gladly and with much joy. This is your purpose on God's Earth."

Except that 33 years later, Mal, as his friends call him, is still waiting. His entire life he has prayed for the day when he will be asked to do 'great things' and his entire life he has been disappointed. His mother worked herself to death so that her only child might gain entrance into the best Catholic schools. He was accepted to St Benedict's Catholic School, which his mother considered a blessing because of their last name, which was also Benedict.

However, life for Mal took a turn for the worse after he was accepted into the school. Scant weeks after being accepted, Mal learned that his mother had been killed by a man who was robbing the store she worked at. Thankfully, his mother had paid his tuition for the year, but after that Mal was on his own. The Sisters were kind, however, and allowed him to continue attending so long as he helped the staff at the school while he wasn't in classes. Everything from washing dishes to cleaning the rain gutters, he did it. And he managed to do all this work _and_ still pass his classes by a healthy margin.

His friends called him Mal for a reason. He's cursed.

Jamie Court in Year Two slipped on the floor Mal had finished mopping. The fall itself wasn't bad; the landing at the bottom of the main staircase was.

Matthew Reed and Amanda Faithe in Year Five had the misfortune of walking through the garden as Mal was planting fresh roses. While sprained ankles are a minor injury, the fractured rib Amanda obtained when Matthew landed on her was not.

Gineva Weatherly and Tabitha Hawk in Year Eight were hiding in the back of the tool shed when Mal locked up for the night. No one heard their cries for help for nearly two days.

Henry Crawford in Year Ten was highly unfortunate. Mal warned the boy about the ice on the lake. Mal was de-icing the path around it and was thankfully able to get to Henry quickly when the boy fell in.

There were more, of course, all suffering from rather bizarre accidents while in the presence of Mal. This is how he earned his nickname.

Now in his mid-thirties, Mal is the grounds keeper for St Benedict's. He remembers what his mother told him about the angel and he prays for the day that He will use him. His mother was told that Mal was meant for 'great things', and Mal never doubted his mother. However, it has been three decades since his mother dropped him off at St Benedict's with the promise to visit for the Christmas holidays and Mal is only human.

The night is warm, unseasonably so, and lightning flashes in the distance. Mal is in his small room at the top of the western tower, kneeling on the floor beside his threadbare cot, praying for God to use him as His angel told his mother all those years ago.

"Please, Lord, use me. All of my life, I have known I was to be Yours, yet all of my life I wait. Please, Lord, find use for me. Show me these 'great things' that the angel who visited mother promised. I am Your most humble servant. Amen."

The final word of his prayer had barely left his lips when he felt a chill in his small room. Looking to the window that faced the west, Mal saw that the window was open, letting in the cool breeze. Standing, Mal walked over to the window to close it, but stopped when he felt a hand land on his shoulder.

"It is time, Gamaliel, to serve your purpose." It wasn't a voice, per se; more like a layer of thoughts in his head that were not his own.

Mal had but a moment to utter his last words before the life he knew was no more. "Thank you."

~*~*~*~

Castiel looked down at the hands of his host. They were used to work, these hands. That was good; he had work to do himself. He looked around the room he found his host in then walked out the door. He was being summoned.

Across the world, a pair of barn doors burst open and the light fixtures inside began to blow out. As a pair of hunters armed themselves, Castiel entered the barn...


End file.
